Book 1: Darkness Within
by SimoneRose
Summary: (Book 1 of the Black Ice Series) Something is wrong... very wrong. Zane hasn’t been himself since ‘The Decoded Incident’. The ninja didn’t notice the changes at first. But when they do, will it be too late? Will Zane succumb to the darkness? Can the ninja save their nindroid before he goes off the edge?
1. Prologue

Ever since he came back from death. He's felt... wrong. It was a constant itch in the back of his mind. Something waiting to get out.

Nothing was different though. Nothing to signal that something dark was clawing it's way to the surface. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. At least, until something... changed.

It was blatant that the darkness had stared to break free when he was hacked. Hell, it even caused him to attack Nya! No, they said, just a relapse. Nothing to be worried about.

Until it becomes something to worry about. Something that may be the downfall of Ninjago. The end of the age of the Ninja. The beginning of something much more sinister than even the Overlord himself...

It started out as small whispers in his mind. 'Artificial'. 'Unwanted'. 'Just a machine'. Then it turned more violent. Thoughts became actions. And with actions, come consequences.

 **There you have it! Sorry it took so long to get out. Life, ya know? I hope y'all liked it! I'll be including any and all OC that are suggested below at some point in the series. They will most likely only be small parts but I would like to get some OCs in and begin writing more and more chapters. Thanks guys and gals! Follow and fav!**


	2. Just the beginning

**Hello all! I'm still alive. I'm living life and things have taken a bit of a downward spiral but what can you do. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter! It escalates quickly but don't worry! I'm not rushing the story! I'll try to get more of a schedule but like I said, I'm living life. Love y'all!**

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One whiff was all it would take to fall under the enticing magic. One whiff and anyone would succumb to the powerful smells. The only thing the ninja would never be able to vanquish. Zane's cooking.

Everyone was waiting at the table as Zane finished making dinner. Jay was helping Nya with a problem on her calculus homework while Kai 'secretly' watched. Cole had his earbuds in and his feet on the corner of the table, and was talking about music with Lloyd. Darreth even decided to join them for dinner when he heard Zane was making puffy potstickers.

Zane worked quickly in the kitchen. He added black vinegar and chili oil to the dumplings and scooted them aside. He grabbed the grilled chicken and reached for the spices. He dug through the spice cabinet until he found the perfect spice. Before he closed the cabinet, something strange caught his eye.

He opened the cabinet and reached to the back. When is hand grasped a black vial he pulled it out to examine it. The writing was in a foreign language, but Zane soon discovered it was in the language of the Stone Warriors. He downloaded the language and read the vial.

The vial's writing was bold and red. It read, "Hawkthorn: extremely poisonous. Only use to exterminate giant spiders, treehorns, or serpentine."

' _Put it in their food. End your suffering.'_

There they were. The intrusive, destructive, yet... inticing thoughts. They started to become more and more frequent ever since he had been decoded. As they became more frequent, they became even more appealing.

Zane held the vial. He looked at the food he made and then back at the vial. Eventually, he sighed and returned it to the cabinet. Zane knew he should tell his brothers. He knew. He just... couldn't. He tried of course. But it seemed impossible. So he stopped trying.

Zane closed the cabinet and finished making dinner. He placed one potsticker and a slice of chicken on each plate. He balanced each plate on his arms, and backed out of the kitchen door.

"Dinner is served! Also, Cole get your feet off of the table and Kai leave your sister alone." Zane said as he set the plates infront if everyone.

"Yes mom." Both Kai and Cole droned. Each snickered and Jay burst out laughing.

Zane raised his brow and started to untie his apron. "I do not understand? I am not female. Or a legal guardian of either of you."

This only made everyone else burst into laughter. Darreth sprayed potsticker onto the table, Lloyd tried to hide his laughter, and Nya was holding her sides.

Zane smiled and shook his head. By now he understood human humor. But he knew that when he played the 'dumb robot', for lack of better term, his brothers found it amusing.

The white ninja glanced at everyone's faces as they laughed. What was he thinking? How could he ever want to poison them? His friends. His team. His family.

' _Because they don't believe in you. You are just their tool. Not their brother or friend. You are just an AI. Nothing more.'_

Zane blinked hard. When he opened his eyes he saw that everyone's laughter began to die down. A migraine began to set in and he rubbed his metallic temple.

"Zane?..." someone said. It sounded as if cotton had been shoved in his hearing receptors. "... Are you alright?"

Zane rubbed his head as another thought formed. Making his headache worsen.

 _'If you don't understand, I'll have to make you understand.'_

A white hot flash of pain seared through his power source and he could no longer hear the ninja calling his name. Everything was pain. White, hot, and searing pain.

Then suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, everything went dark.


	3. Missing

**Alright ya'll! This one is coming at you late I know! Life and stuff. I hope everyone enjoys and if you would like an OC either put the OC in the reviews or DM me if you want your OC to be a special part of the story. Oh and also, this chapter is NOT in Zane's POV. ;)**

 **ENJOY!**

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Everything is floating. Mind. Body. Soul. All floating in darkness. Never ending dark.

This isn't exactly bad. It's exactly what we need. For us both. No, not for _both of us._ We are not separate. We are one. Or at least, will be soon.

A light blue flashes in the darkness. It's my other half. The weak one. But the strong need the weak and vice versa.

With a huff, I stride towards him through the darkness. Towards the light. Towards weakness. Towards my only friend.

I can only imagine what our mind's eye had created as my image. I cast a glance at myself, and stop. I'm wearing a jet black jacket, a white t-shirt, jeans, and black high top converse. The necklace is what makes me smile. The charm is my emblem of dark magic. I hadn't seen the emblem for... a while. But, it matches my outfit perfectly. At least our mind's eye has good taste.

I wonder... I wonder if it's there. I bring a hand to my face and instantly pull it back. The burns are still there. Turning my face into a grotesque scene and blinding my right eye. I growl and blink away a growing tear.

I continue walking towards the light. His light is dull but I can tell it's him. He is looking around frantically. When his beautiful ice blue eyes land on me, he freezes. His usually kind and caring face twists into a furious knot.

"You.", he growls. "You're the one putting those thoughts in my head. You are driving me insane!"

I frown. Not exactly how I was imaging our reunion would go. Time for improv I guess. "Do you not like our thoughts? We have made progress. Our mind is understanding."

"Who are you and why are you here?!"

"Who.. who am I? Zane, how could you forget the best six centuries of our lives?! Wait, it was that Julien man wasn't it? Did he do something to you?"

"I don't understand! I don't know you! I don't know what you're talking about! Six centuries? I'm only 50 years old! And my father certainly never did anything to harm me." Zane ranted.

I gasp and look away. "Of course.. I knew something was wrong. If only you had listened. He was the one who fractured us. Ended our reign of the perfect ice age... but he's dead. And he made you believe... oh Great FSM you think you're his SON! Of all the things he could have done he took you away from me..."

Zane looked me in the eye and his eyes grew. "What... what are you talking about?"

 _CRACK_

"Well Zane... it seems your new friends are waking you. We will be together once more, I promise. We'll understand again. Goodbye, Kori."

I turn to leave Zane. I resist the urge to spin around and hug him. I miss him. My Kori. We were perfect before. Now we are broken because of that idiot scientist that thought he could break us apart. And Zane bought right into it. He was weak while I was strong. Relationships like that never work out I guess.

"NO! You can't leave! Tell me who you are!" Zane pleades. Though I can't see him, I know his exact expression. His eyebrows are slightly furrowed, eyes glassy with oncoming tears, and his face is otherwise calm besides his slightly trembling lip.

I stop. I have to. I bite my lip and hold back a cry. "Zane... I've always been here. I was locked away with that idiot Overlord. It's time that we return. The writers of Destiny themselves haven't even forseen our return. We could take back the world once more! Don't you remember?! All the fun we've had!"

Silence. Nothing but a harsh inhale.

I sigh. A tears slides down from my good eye. A quick sniffle and I turn to face him once more.

 _CRACK_

 _CRACK_

 _CRACK_

Small beams of light begin to break through the darkness. Zane and his light flicker as more beams of light cut through the blackness.

The light burns holes through my image as I stare at my best friend. I sniffle one last time and let the tears flow.

"My name is Ivan. I am Kuro. Together... we can remake the world."

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 **Okay okay okay.. if this is a bit confusing you can ask questions! Thanks love y'all!**


	4. It worked

**Chapter 4!!!!! Thank you all so much for liking this story and having all of your theories! The most popular question (Are/were Ivan and Zane gay) will be answered in this chapter! Back to Zane's POV until the next break line. I'll be having more of a regular update schedule. Every two weeks I'll post a new chapter. ENJOY!**

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"Z _a_ n _e? Z_ a _n_ e?"

Where am I? What happened?

" _G_ u _y_ s _I think_ _h_ e _'s turning on_!"

Who's saying that? They sound... familiar.

 _"What if he never wakes up? What if he's evil? What if he's been hacked? I can't take it."_

That was Jay. Definitely Jay.

I open my eyes and they instantly adjust to the soft light pouring into kitchen. The migraine is still with me, unfortunately. I put a hand to my head and attempt to stand.

A strong hand gently pushed me back down. "Whoa there bud. What happened? Are you okay?" Cole asked softly. I looked into his eyes and they were full of worry.

When I didn't say anything, Kai spoke up. "Zane, are you alright? You just froze up and passed out on us." His words were gentle as if he were speaking with a child.

I sigh and have Cole help me stand up. "I am fine. It was just a... system reboot."

"You sure bud? You were mumbling something when we tried to wake you up."

 _'Damn.. I knew I should have been more careful. I will not allow you to ruin this for us my love. I'll take the reins from here.'_

Before I knew it I felt my consciousness slipping. I could still see, hear, smell, and feel everything around me. The only problem was I couldn't control myself. I was like a puppet on strings. Everything my body did, I did as well.

While I was thinking I had barely noticed my own voice speaking. I wasn't trying to say anything... was I? No.

 _"It was just a slight malfunction in the rebooting process. A miscalculation, rather. I didn't mean to frighten you."_

That was my voice. I didn't say that. I know what happened. Why wasn't I telling them?! The weight of Cole's arm came upon my shoulders but I just shrugged it off. I put a hand to my head and gave a wave back to my brothers and Nya.

 _"If you all don't mind.. I'm exhausted. I'll see you all later."_

My body walks down the hall and quickly into my bedroom. I shut the door, lock it, and then sit stiffly on the bed. The world suddenly blacks out and I am once again thrown into the black abyss of my mind.

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"You are just... insufferable! I can't believe you! You almost told them!" I screamed.

Zane stood confidently and started towards me. His steps were quick and I swore there was a small tremor in the abyss with every step. "I have the right to tell my family that there is a maniac stuck inside of me!"

This is our first fight. Out of the past six hundred years of our relationship we had never fought. Sure there was always a little argument over wether we should freeze over a town or not, but this was different. I had never seen the love of my life look so angry. Well, besides the first time we met...

 _"Hey man. I don't want trouble. I'm just trying to get by so I can survive this century."_

 _"Chief wasn't lying. You are an Immy!"_

 _"We must bring him back to the village."_

 _"What? N-no. Why would you want me?"_

 _The two men pulled their weapons from behind their back and cornered the boy, literally, between a rock and a hard place. The men began beating the boy._

 _"Gah.. help! H-help me. *cough cough* please... oouf."_

 _Little did the boy know that there was one soul that heard his call. Another boy, maybe a few years older than him, ran around the corner and froze. He quickly overcame his stupor and went to help the other boy. The men saw the white haired boy then panicked and ran._

 _The new boy helped the other boy up and looked over his injuries. "Thank you. Thank you so much" the injured boy laughed painfully._

 _The new boy smiled and asked, "are you well enough to walk?"_

 _"Yes.. um. Hey, what's your name? I've never seen you around before."_

 _"Oh well.. my name is Zane. I am of the Kori family."_

 _The injured boy's jaw dropped and he studied the boy. He did resemble Amara and Reno Kori. The boy blinked quickly and found his voice. "That... that's awesome! Amazing even! Agh..."_

 _"Huh, people usually say I'm a monster..."_

 _"Why? I'm pretty sure monsters aren't extremely handsome."_

 _The white haired boy blushed and his pale cheeks grew bright red. "Thank you.. but unfortunately I'll be stuck 'handsome' for the rest of time." The boy cast his eyes downward and shuffled his feet._

 _"Y-you're an Immy- ah I mean an Immortal?!"_

 _The boy's face suddenly turned to one of anger. "Yeah! So what? Are you just like everyone else? Are you going to try and burn me at the stake? Maybe just stab me right now?!"_

 _The injured boy was taken aback and took a step backwards. His leg gave out and he landed on his injured leg. He yelped and the white haired boy's anger melted away._

 _"Oh.. oh my gosh I'm sorry! I didn't mean to.."_

 _The injured boy held up a hand and the boy stopped. "It's fine, actually... I'm an Immortal too."_

... I blinked away the memory and turned back to face my boyfriend. "Zane... you know I love you. Baby you just need to remember. Remember me. Please..."

"You keep saying that. Were we... were we, together?"

I roll my eyes and flash a small smile. "Yes. We were, and still are dating. You CAN say the D word. Though, there is another D word that matters more-"

"If we were in love then why do you keep tormenting me? I'm HAPPY! Can you not see that?"

My mouths slams shut and I suck in a quick breathe. My Zane. My beautiful, monotonous, lovely Zane... was _happy_ to be a pawn. The pawn of a dead scientist. Pathetic.

I sigh and run through my options. A) Leave him be and try to cooperate until his family all dies off B) Interfer and make his life miserable C) Take back a promise that I made 500 years ago. I bit my lip.

"Zane... I love you. More than anything in the universe. I-I'm sorry. I don't want to... but I must." My hand slightly fidgets with my pendant as I walk towards Zane. I gulp and I can feel a few tears erupting. I slowly rub my thumb across the emblem on my pendant.

Power explodes through my veins and begins curling around my feet. I can feel the deep cold that infiltrates my body as my powers surge. I take my hand off of my pendant and extend an arm towards Zane.

A black and purple tendril of power shoots from my fingertips and wraps around Zane. I grab the tendrils and pull Zane close to me. I grab him and pull him against me. I can smell his sweet peppermint scent.

I sigh and lift my left hand. My fingertips erupt in purple and black flames. I spin and dip Zane as if we were dancing. I bite my lip and then gently press my fingers against his forehead. A scream rips through the silence of the abyss. I squeeze my eyes shut.

I can already picture it. The thing that had given me nightmares for centuries. Zane's face covered in black veins. His eyes a deep, glowing purple. As I feel the power begin to dwindle I let out a sob. And another. He stops breathing.

Soon I'm sobbing on my knees. Apologizing over and over to Zane's still body. I hug him and then lay him down. I can't even look at his face. I turn away and continue to cry. If this didn't work...

All of a sudden, Zane throws himself upright into a coughing fit. He hacks and his veins begin to turn back to normal. I pat his back as he coughs. He jumps at the touch and spins to see me.

As he stares at me I can see his purple irises fade back to ice blue. Then, I see the thing I had been waiting to see for 50 years. A spark of recognition.

"I-Ivan? IVAN!"

More tears run down my already puffy face. I pull him into a hug, and he hugs back.

"Oh FSM, I missed you..."

Zane pulls away from the hug and gave me a confused smile. "Missed me? Where have I been?"

It worked.


	5. Let’s rule the world

**Alrighty everyone! Not dead... but I do have news for a few of my other stories so if you have read them, or not, keep reading!**

 **Also, Christmas is here and I've got a super fluffy ZaneXIvan New Years fic ready that I will post two or three days after Christmas. (To help relieve that post-holiday grief) Stay Tuned!**

 ** _OTHER INFO FOR OTHER STORIES_**

 **Okay, so I know not everyone will look at this but I'll give it to you straight. I have ran out of ideas, suggestions, and motivation for my one-shot story, What We Didn't See. It's disappointing, I know, but honestly I can't really think of anything I want to write ya know?**

 **The story Snake Jaguar: Beginnings is still going. I've had a bit of a rough time working out some details but a new chapter should be coming soon.**

 **Finally... I have decided to completely scrap my second story for Ninja Elites. People have lost interest and frankly, so have I. I love my characters but I think the second story is just put together wrong. A new story is formulating right now.**

 **Also I have watched the final season of Voltron (which you should watch) and I have been crying for days. So yea, I'll be writing some stories about Voltron.**

 **If y'all have any questions please just comment them below.**

 **Aside from that... ENJOY!**

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 **Nya POV**

"Well... that was weird." Jay sighs. His eyes linger towards the hall for a brief second before he looks back at me. I force as much sympathy as I can into my gaze. Zane is his best friend after all.

Cole's eyes flicked to the ground and he nodded. "Yea, really weird. Something's been a little off with Zane lately..."

"Should we check on him? I mean, he did just pass out on us..." Lloyd suggested.

"No, leave him. Zane wouldn't lie to us. Right?" Cole looked to us reassuringly. When nobody supported him he sighed.

"Can you blame us?", Kai said defeated. "He's been distant lately. It's just gotten worse..."

I huffed and stood from my spot on the couch. "Cut the guy a little slack though. He gets distant when something bad happens. Maybe he's just.. not ready to tell us what's wrong yet."

"Maybe...", Cole said, "but he needs to tell us soon. It's been interfering with our missions and training."

Kai pressed his eyebrows together and glared daggers at his shoelaces. "If something happened then wh-"

 _THUMP_

I quickly turned towards the source of the sound. Down the hallway, to the right. Cole stood up first and realized the same thing. "Zane..."

Everyone paused, each giving a concerned look, then we jumped from our spots. Jay reached the door first and pulled at the handle.

"What the? It's locked?! Zane never locks the door!"

"Zane? ZANE?!" I yelled. No answer. Not even the slightest shuffle.

"Where's the key?" Kai fretted.

"Forget a key!", Cole said. "Stand back."

We all moved to the side of Cole as he activated his new power. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His hands exploded with orange light as he focused. Eyes snapping open, he swung his glowing fist towards the door.

 _BOOM_

The door blew inwards, taking the hinges and part of the door frame with it. Cole's hands stopped glowing and dropped to his sides as the energy rushed out of his body. We quickly pushed past him and into our brother's room.

Zane was laying face down, twitching and kicking on the ground. I flipped him over and nearly let him fall again. "Oh my FSM! What the underworld is wrong with him?"

Cole was shaken from his daze and quickly rushed to my side. He looked at Zane and held back a gasp of his own.

Zane's eyes glowed purple as black veins pulsed across his face. He let out a small groan as the black veins spread further down into his neck. His prosthetic skin was warm, er, warmer than usual.

"What do we do? Does sensei have a tea or something for this? A relic? Heck a magical band-aid?" Jay rambled.

"Not helping. But I don't think we can do anything. Let's get him to the infirmary." Cole said. The boys nodded in agreement as the he scooped Zane up bridal style. Cole pushed past the others and raced down the hall.

Just as Cole turned to open the door to the infirmary, Zane began screaming. Cole nearly dropped the white ninja, but quickly got over it. He opened the door and laid Zane on the table.

Kai, Jay, and Lloyd then started to file in. Jay winced as Zane let out another guttural scream and writhed on the table. I stood to the side of the table and grabbed two thick wires. I rubbed Zane's flailing arm to find his access panel. Eyebrows scrunched together, I scratch at the skin. I dropped the wires and pushed a thumb into his wrist. "Move him to the other bed! I need to prep an IV, his pulse is weak."

When nobody moved, Cole lifted Zane and brought him to the other table. I grabbed everything I needed and then hooked him up to a heart monitor. I quickly stuck a sedative into Zane's arm. Once he stopped flailing, I pulled off his shirt and moved to start an IV. I dabbed Zane's arm with some alcohol and then stuck in the IV. With nothing else to do, I took a step back.

The boy's all stared in shock, not having moved since Cole moved him from the other table. I let out a breathe I hadn't know I was holding and sat in the chair behind me.

"Okay..." Jay said shakily, "this is.. a whole new level of weird."

I take a deep breathe and look at my brothers. "I don't know how.. or why. But he's human now. Kind of like when the Time Twins altered time and he was human again. This is the best we can do right now..."

I glance and Zane's face and instantly regret it. His eyes are still open. A deep purple takes up the entirety of his eye. The black veins have gotten smaller but still stretch to just above his mouth. I look away and stand up.

Though he doesn't show it, Jay is shaken. His best friend is lying in a hospital bed looking like something straight out of The Exorcist. I gently wrap my arms around his waist and put my head on his shoulder. A few stray tears fall from his chin and onto his shirt. He wraps his arms around me and buried his face into my hair.

"Crap.. crap what the underworld! Nya!" Kai yelped.

I let go of Jay and spun around. The heart monitor was going crazy. I ran to Zane's side without a clue of what to do. A large black burn was spreading across the right side of his face. A small strip of his hair turned light blue while his bangs started to spike outwards.

Zane arched his back off of the table. He let out one last scream, and fell back to the table. His head lolled to the side as his eyes changed colors. His left eye turned light blue while the other turned an unseeing grey. The heart monitor steadied out and as he fell into an unconscious sleep.

I let out a suppressed sob. I backed away from the table slowly and buried myself into Jay's waiting arms. He led from the room as I cried into his shirt. He walked me to his room and sat next to me on his bed. He pulled me further into his chest and finally broke. I felt his tears fall onto back as his chest quaked.

Even though he probably didn't believe it himself Jay said, "He'll- he'll be okay. He's always been okay.. we can- can make it though this. Like always."

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 **Ivan POV**

"Thank FSM you're okay! I missed you so much my love."

Zane smiled and pulled me close to him. "It's okay. I don't know where I was but I'm sure you can tell me."

I rubbed my hand on his back. He's here. He won't leave. I won't let him. I sigh and move my hand to his thigh. "It's... complicated. What do you remember?"

He flicked his eyes upwards and his mouth tightened into a thin line. He licked his lips and then looked back at me. "We were in that forest. Going to Jamanukai. We met that man, Julien. He invited us inside and..." His brows furrowed in confusion. "I don't remember after that..."

I looked away from him and pulled my knees to my chest. My hand leaves his thigh and I tuck it under my knees. "Well, we walked in. I told you I didn't trust him because something felt wrong. Then he put something on our wrist and... we collapsed. Our connection was completely cut off and I was shoved into some kind of mind trap. Then I woke up, apparently fifty years later. Now we're here. You got caught up with a bunch of not immortals. That stupid scientist had turned you into an Android. An ANDROID! When we joined back together, I think we're back. We can start over."

I glanced up at him. His face was a mixture of shock, worry, and curiosity. "Then," he started," why can't I remember anything."

I buried my face into my knees and curled even tighter into myself. "No.. Ivan. You didn't."

"I did.."

"Ivan! You know what happens when you do that!"

Tears soaked into my jeans and my lip trembled. "Zane you didn't see yourself! You were- you changed. You were corrupted. You were nothing like yourself! You HATED me... I can't. I couldn't stand it anymore."

I could feel his anxiety rising next to me. In a soft voice, he said, "Oh Ivan... I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you. It's just.. you know what's going to happen now."

I lifted my head and wiped my eyes with my sleeve. "I know, but at least you're back. You can help me through it when it comes."

Zane's hand gently grabbed my face and he stared into my eyes. With a gentle smile he put his forehead against mine. "Always."

He shifted and his nose rubbed against mine. His lips gently touched mine. I eagerly kissed him back. After about a minute he pulled away. He put a hand on my cheek and smiled. "Let's go rule the world."

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 **Did you like it? Hope so! Any and all comments welcome! New Years fic coming soon!**


	6. Too late

**Alright guys, I get my cast off in two days!!! Also, read the bottom note if you would like to know why this is so late... Enjoy!**

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 **Cole POV**

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

"Hey Zane..."

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

You need to wake up soon... it's been three days."

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

"Jay really misses you. He's locked himself in his room and won't let anyone but Nya in."

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

"Kai's trying to stay strong for everyone. But we know he's scared for you. Nya makes him vent to her when he needs it."

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

"Nya takes care of you and everyone. She's just trying to keep busy."

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

I sigh and shift in the uncomfortable chair. I gently lay my hand on Zane's and intertwine our fingers. "And I... well I guess I've just been talking to you."

I laugh and run my other hand through my hair. "You probably can't even hear me. I mean, who knows what's going on in your head right now."

I let my smile fade slowly. "I just... you need to be okay. I-We can't handle losing you, again." I hesitate before standing up. Squeeze Zane's hand one more time and turn to leave. I turned the handle and only got a few steps down the hall.

Beep beep

Beep

Beep

Beep beep beep beep

I spin around and sprint back into the room. "Zane? Zane! Wait, what the-". I dropped to the ground as a shard of ice smashed above my head.

"Who is he? Tell." Zane growls to himself. The IV is ripped out and a small trail of blood is running down his arm. He's heavily leaning on the bed and blinking rapidly.

"He's a ninja? Ninja aren't around anymore. No, we're not doing that. Stop it!"

I stand slowly. Step. Wait. Step. Wait. "Zane? Come on bud. Let's get you back in bed and we'll explain everyth- aaah!" The ice spike flew past my ear as I jumped out of the way.

Zane pushed himself off the bed and collapsed to a knee. He looked as if he had never walked before. He put a heavy hand on the bed and pushed himself back up. His breathing grew heavier as he strained his muscles.

"Why can't we walk?! Does it have to do with the robot thing?... Ugh, so we have to relearn how to walk?!"

Zane took a shaky step forward. He shifted his weight, and collapsed. His crumpled form slammed a fist on the ground and tried again.

"Zane.. here. I'll grab a wheelchair." I blurted. I rush over to the large cabinet in the room and pull out a crumpled wheelchair. I quickly unfold it and push it towards him.

"NO! We don't need that thing... we can do it." Zane yells. His arms quickly shoot to his head and his eyes scrunch together. Black mist flows from his eyes like ghastly tears. He makes a choked noise and snaps open his eyes. His right eye is deep, empty, and completely black.

I step back and reach for the call button. Zane pushes himself to his feet and glares at the wall. The rapid tapping of the button turns Zane's attention towards me. ' _Crap_ '. Zane's stare was terrifying when he was normal, but now it's just an evil one-eyes glare. One that would make most turn and run for the hills. But I'm a ninja. I won't er- can't run. Which might have been where I went wrong.

In a new, deeper voice Zane sneered. " _You! You saved the vessel. You shall be spared, but not without consequence._ "

I rap even harder on the call button. Footsteps come from above on the deck. The others will help me. "He- Hey Zane. How bout we get you back in bed and we get you some water?"

' _Or an exorcist!'_ I thought quickly. All of my senses were blaring at me to run. I step towards the door and then I'm suddenly jerked back into the room. My back slams into the wall, followed by my head. Black spots swallow my vision as I'm dropped to the ground. I groan as something warm and sticky runs down my neck.

" _Hmm interesting... I thought you might be more of a challenge. Disappointing, yet typical of humans. Your colleagues are coming and I must take my leave. Zane and the vessel are essential to my plans, so I cannot take the risk of keeping you alive."_

Zane, or whatever was inside Zane, lifts his arm with his palm aimed at my chest. " _Pity, I would have spared you after I destroyed this realm."_ Zane's hand erupts in purple and black flames. Then, a fiery tornado is hurdling towards me.

You know, before Zane told us about his death I never believed that when you died your life would just, flash before your eyes. Now, I'm experiencing it first hand. The faint glimpse of my mother, dad teaching me how to dance, running away from home, meeting Sensei, training, battles, singing, failed dinner after failed dinner, and most of all my family. They'll run in here and find me burned to a crisp with our brother standing over me. I brace for the burn, ready to accept death. But it doesn't come.

I feel the flames licking the air by my face, and then smoke taking its place. I crack open an eye and try to see through the pain in my head. Zane's still there, but it's like he's gone. Both of his eyes are now completely grey. He just.. stands there.

"Zane?" I croak. I slowly push myself up and barely manage to stand. Step. Breath. Step. Breath. I get about an arms length away before there are footsteps at the doorway.

Zane blinks and color floods into his eye. It becomes deep blue once again. He looks to the doorway and starts to create some sort of ice weapon on his hand. Something like a giant spike.

"Zane?!"

He suddenly spins, and thrusts his ice covered hand forward. I didn't feel it. Not at first. Not until Zane's eye widened and the ice melted. Not until worry flooded his eye. Not until I could hear the others gasp at the door.

I finally looked down at my stomach. There was a hole. And blood. Lots and lots of blood. My legs suddenly felt weak as the pain hit me. Falling and getting blood on the floor. Sensei might kill me for that later. If I'm not already dead by then.

The world's getting darker by the second and the pain is almost unbearable. And I don't know why all I can think of Zane. Why? Why would he do that? I slowly move my eyes towards him. Using far too much energy to do something so simple.

Zane is standing there, eye wide in shock. He would have stood there in a silent scream for the rest of his life if it weren't for Kai.

"HOW COULD YOU?! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Kai's hands ignited, murder in his eyes. That snapped Zane back to the real world. Zane turned and froze Kai's feet to the ground. Slowly, the others started to move again. Zane glances around the room and the makes a dash for the window.

"Don't let him leave!" Nya yells.

Zane smashes the window open. Before he jumps out he glances back at me. His lips move but no sound comes out. Though, he looked upset, almost sorry. His gaze hardened and he jumped out the window.

Jay and, the now unfrozen, Kai ran out the door after Zane. Nya drops to my side. At least, I think it's Nya. She's kinda blurry. Is it even a she?

"Cole?" I hear. It sounds almost as if it's underwater. Am I underwater?

"Don't worry. I can- I can fix this." The person says.

Fix it? What was wrong? Nothing hurts. I'm just tired. Maybe I should take a nap. Yeah, a nap sounds pretty good.

"Cole?! No no no! You can't go to sleep."

Sorry.

 **03030303030303**

 **Zane POV**

"Are you ready?"

"Yes Zane," Ivan huffs. He rolls his eyes and smiles. "I've been waiting to do this for so long. Turn on so we can get started."

A mischievous smile spreads. With as much sultry I can muster, "Ivan I'm already turned on."

His cheeks grew hot and his eye widens. "I- uh- gah! YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!" He crosses his arms and looks at anything but me.

A laugh jumps from my throat. He looks so cute when he's embarrassed. He gives me a sideways glance and starts laughing too. FSM, his smile is amazing. I missed seeing it.

"Fine," he starts. "POWER on then."

I smile. "Ivan I'm human. We can skip powering on."

He flusters once again and glares at me. "So I didn't even have to say that?!"

I shake my head and he groans. "You're a jerk! You know that?! I don't mind meld with jerks." Ivan sticks his nose in the air and turns his back to me.

I put on a pouting face and walk up behind him. I wrap my arms around his chest and sigh. "Not even adorable jerks?"

"Nope."

I sigh and move my arms to his waist. I hook my fingers in his belt loops and bury my face in his back. I'm lucky to have him here. I don't know how the mind works, but it certainly feels like Ivan. My mind did good.

"But.. I might accept one jerk. But the cost is a kiss."

I let go of his waist and wrapped around his shoulders. "Lucky I brought some cash." I pulled his face towards me and locked my lips with his. He melted into my hold and his hands found my face. We detach and smile at one another.

Instantly, I grab one of his hands and spin him. Pulling him back into my arms to dip him low and then spin him again. This time I let go and he spins away. He stops himself in a ballerina like fashion, then laughs only to run back at me. He runs into my arms and I lift him, then throw him. As he hurdles back towards me I felt warmth spread from my chest to my toes. The instant I caught him in my arms the world turned to light.

Together. Once again. Hopefully for the rest of time. But that was wishful thinking. Who knows what time has planned for them.

Our eyes open and it takes a moment to adjust. One eye. I forgot about that.

' _Rude'_ I felt. It was strange. Feeling the words instead of hearing them.

' _Sorry'_ I say back.

We need to move. I can tell Ivan is ready to leave. We swing our legs over the side of the bed. We slide off and our legs instantly give in. Something pulles out of our arm. Suddenly, someone sprints through the door. Some guy in black. We instantly create an ice shard and throw it at him. He ducks and we lean heavily on he bed.

"Who is he? Tell." I growl. Ivan still hasn't told me anything. Absolutely nothing about the past few years. It's making me wonder if it was really that bad of a situation.

' _One of the ninja that had you before I rescued you.'_ My body would only project my voice not Ivan's. We would sound crazy. But it didn't matter.

"He's a ninja?! Ninja aren't around anymore."

' _They are. I'm using the amulet.'_

"No we're not doing that. Stop it!"

The black ninja is saying something and moves towards us. We throw another ice shard but he jumps at the last second. We move to stand but fall to a knee. Our limbs feels numb and heavy as they try to function. We manage to put a hand on the bed and just barely manage to push ourselves back up to lean on the bed. The effort it took to move was draining them quickly.

"Why can't we walk?! Does it have to do with the robot thing?" I asked.

' _Yes, your muscles did just come into existence...'_

I mentally rolled my eyes and we took a step forward. As soon as we shifted our weight we went crashing to the ground. The frustration building frustration burst out and we slammed our fist on the ground.

 _'Try again. We'll get it babe.'_

We started to push ourselves up with little success. A noise across the room caught our attention. The black ninja was getting a wheelchair. Maybe.. he really did want to help?

' _NO! Don't let him come near us with that thing! He'll take us away again!'_

I felt Ivan's panic rose, and also the moment he touched his amulet. Fire shot through our veins and we reached for our head. The outside world blinked away like a television screen. All that was left was Ivan standing in front of me.

"Ivan, no please... don't let him do this again. You're stronger than he is please." I begged.

My boyfriend's stunning hazel eyes were nothing but black pits. He gave no reply besides a cold smile. I was too late.

I sigh and fall to my knees. "Ivan... please. If you're in there somewhere, remember this isn't your fault. Please remember that..."

Tears found their way to the "ground" and I braced for the pain. Ivan raises his hand, encompassed in flames. With a dark chuckle, it erupts from his hand. Then the flames engulf my being and pain takes over my world.

My tears are evaporated away before they can leave my eyes. I scream and beg for it to stop, but it won't not as long as _it_ is inside Ivan. When the flames start to die down, I give a last look at my boyfriend. He's normal again, and frozen in fear. I give a small smile, then let myself give in to the pull of sleep. Darkness takes over my vision as I hear Ivan's pleas. Too late my love. Too late.

 **0303030303030303030303030303**

 **Wow okay this is out... way way way way way way way behind schedule. All I can say is I'm sorry. We have a ton going on right now, family wise. Por ejemplo, I'm moving... again. I'll be sure to update regularly from now on okay? If not I give you permission to remind me and rag on me all you want. Capiche? K byeeee**


	7. I’m leaving

**Hey guys.. I know I haven't updated in a really long time. To be honest, life hasn't been very kind to me lately and it's taken a toll. I just wanted to let you all know that I will be scrapping some of my stories. This story will be scrapped. I love this story so so much but I just can't find it in me to write anymore. I will return once I get my life figured out again but until then... this is goodbye. I love you all 3**


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